Panagiotis "Takis" Koroneos (alternate spellings: Taki, Koronaios, Greek: Παναγιώτης "Τάκης" Κορωναίος; born October 8, 1952) is a retired Greek professional basketball player and a professional

basketball coach Basketball coaching is the act of directing and strategizing the behavior of a basketball team or individual basketball player. Basketball coaching typically encompasses the improvement of individual and team offensive and defensive skills, as wel ...

. He is also a former member of the Greece men's national basketball team. During his playing career, his nickname was, "The

Galis Galis ( he, גאליס) is an Israeli youth series broadcast from February 12, 2012, the Arutz HaYeladim, children's channel subscribers HOT (Israel), HOT. The series focuses upon a summer camp called Galis, and the adventures of campers to the T ...

Before Galis". During his playing career, Koroneos was credited with discovering

Rony Seikaly Rony is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Ronielson da Silva Barbosa, Brazilian footballer better known as Rony *Rony Ahonen (born 1987), Finnish ice hockey defenceman *Rony Bakale (born 1987), Olympic swimmer from the Republ ...

, while he was a youth in Greece. In 1981, Koroneos met Seikaly, who was 16 at the time, after he purchased a pair of large basketball sneakers in Koroneos' athletics store. On the recommendation of Koroneos to the management of

Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...

, Seikaly was then selected to join Panathinaikos' men's senior team, in order to begin training and practicing with them.

College career

Koroneos joined the youth teams of Panathinaikos in 1965, and he began his career with the club's senior men's team, in 1968. However, he still retained his

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

status for the

NCAA DI NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic ...

. In 1970, he then began to play college basketball in the United States, at

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Unive ...

, where he played with the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

Club career

Koroneos had a long tenure with the Greek team

Panathinaikos Athens Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club b ...

. With Panathinaikos, he won 11 Greek League championships and 3 Greek Cup titles. While a member of Panathinaikos, he was also the Greek Cup Finals Top Scorer in 1983. In 2008, he was voted as one of the 100 greatest athletes in the first 100 years in the history of all the sports divisions of the Panathinaikos Athletic Club. He was voted the 60th most important athlete overall, and the 12th most important basketball player, in the club's first 100 years. During his career, he also played with

PAOK Thessaloniki PAOK ( el, ΠΑΟΚ, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans' ...

and Panionios Athens. In the top-tier level Greek League, he scored a total of 7,465 points, which is the 5th most total points scored in the competition, since the 1963–64 season.

Greece National team career

Koroneos played with the Greece men's national basketball team in 150

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

, in which he recorded a personal total of 1,832 points.Basket.gr Ονοματεπώνυμο: ΚΟΡΩΝΑΙΟΣ ΠΑΝΑΓΙΩΤΗΣ .
/ref> His first game with the Greece men's national team was played on July 25, 1972, against the Bulgaria men's national basketball team, during the Balkan Championship. His last game played with Greece was on October 29, 1981, against the

Poland men's national basketball team The Poland men's national basketball team ( pl, Reprezentacja Polski w koszykówce) represents Poland in international basketball competitions. They are controlled by the Polish Basketball Federation (PZKosz). Poland has competed at the EuroB ...

, in a

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game. Koroneos played at the 1972 Pre-Olympic Tournament, the

1975 EuroBasket The 1975 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1975, was the nineteenth FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. Venues First round Group A – Split Group B – Karlovac Group C � ...

, the

1979 EuroBasket The 1979 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1979, was the 21st FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. Twelve national teams affiliated with the International Basketball Federation enter ...

, and the

1981 EuroBasket The 1981 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1981, was the 22nd FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. The competition was hosted by Czechoslovakia and took place from 26 May to 5 June 1981 ...

. They won gold medals at the

1979 Mediterranean Games The 1979 Mediterranean Games, officially known as the VIII Mediterranean Games, and commonly known as Split 1979, were the 8th Mediterranean Games. The Games were held in Split, Yugoslavia, from 15 to 29 September 1979, where 2,408 athletes (2,00 ...

, and the 1979 Balkan Championship.

Coaching career

After his playing career ended, Koroneos worked as the head coach of the clubs

Maroussi Athens Maroussi B.C. ( gr, K.A.E. Μαρούσι, link=off) alternately translated as Marousi, Amaroussi, or Amaroussion, is a professional basketball club that is based in Marousi, a northern suburb of Athens, in Greece. The club's full name is Gymnasti ...

, Dafni Athens, Near East Kaisariani, Keravnos Strovolou Women, Panionios Athens Women and Panathinaikos Athens women (during the 2008–09 season).

Awards and accomplishments

Pro career

*11× Greek League Champion: (1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984) *3× Greek Cup Winner: (1979, 1982, 1983) * Greek Cup Finals Top Scorer: (1983) * 5th all-time leading scorer of the Greek Basketball Championship, with 7,465 total points scored in the Greek A National League (1963–64 season to present).

Greece national team

: * Balkan Championship: **: (1979) **: (1972) **: (1974, 1976, 1977, 1980)

References

Bibliography

*Panathinaikos - 90 Years On An Historic Run 1908-1998, P. Fiamegos, Athens 1998

External links

FIBA.com ProfileHellenic Basketball Federation Profile

Τα “κανόνια” του ελληνικού Πρωταθλήματος: Τάκης Κορωναίος

TAKIS KORONEOS 1968-1986, 1989-90
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koroneos, Takis 1952 births Living people Competitors at the 1979 Mediterranean Games Greek basketball coaches Greek Basket League players Greek men's basketball players Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Greece Mediterranean Games medalists in basketball Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball players Panathinaikos B.C. players Panionios B.C. players P.A.O.K. BC players Point guards Shooting guards Sportspeople from Rethymno